Give thanks with a grateful heart!

Thanksgiving Dinner By Norman Rockwell

(My favorite Artist!)

I am thankful for so many things this year. Every good and perfect thing comes down from the Lord, and He has blessed us endlessly this year. Every year, after our turkey dinner we are asked what we are most thankful for. Every year, we find something new to be thankful for, besides the usual things which children like to say in their innocence... namely family, friends, pets, home...but aren't those valid things to be thankful for? Think about the Depression, and how many were left without every one of the "usual" things. Are we TRULY thankful? Do we give thanks with a grateful heart? Or is it just something monotonous that we do every year? When the pilgrims were actually celebrating Thanksgiving, who were they giving thanks to? Back at the VERY BEGINNING OF THANKSGIVING IT WAS ALL ABOUT THANKING GOD, AND GIVING HIM THE GLORY. Is that how we celebrate? I propose that we consider the simple things in our lives, and truly give thanks for them, then after that, we can thank God for the "unusual" things. Our part is to give thanks to God for what He does (in the good times and bad). This year we got to sing this song before we loaded up on the goodies, and I think it's a appropriate.

Give thanks with a grateful heart,

give thanks to the Holy One,

give thanks because He's given

Jesus Christ, His Son.

And now, let the weak say 'I am strong,'

let the poor say 'I am rich'!

Because of what the Lord has done, for us,

give thanks.

Having a ball, dancing, and the ball!

Well, the ball was amazing, as usual! I loved the dress I got to wear. Big blessing with that dress! The whole ball evening is devoted to Pride and Prejudice style dancing. Don't worry! It's not like a prom! There are rules to how girls and guys can dress, how many times a guy can dance with a girl, and other things. The lady who puts on the ball is a gum police! So another of the rules is that you can't have GUM!!! All four of us kids got the chance to go to the ball, and each of us had a good time.

Horsin' around!

Rainy and me at our first show

Rainy and Baby are their names. They look similar, but are completely different! Since I was little, probably 3, I've wanted to own a horse. I entered a contest at the Lynden state fair to win a pony. I didn't win, but from then on I looked at websites that sold horses. I dreamed of earning enough money to buy one. Well, what we have now is the next best thing.

Rainy is a pony that belongs to a program at a ranch near us. (Pony means a smaller horse, not a baby!) But they ran out of stalls at the ranch, and needed to find somewhere to keep her. We were taking riding lessons there, and they asked us if we could take care of her. We eagerly accepted! OF COURSE!

We pay for everything, food, shoes, water, but we get to ride her, and we didn't have to pay for her! SUCH A BLESSING! Today, I rode for a WHOLE HOUR! So much fun!

Baby is a sweet heart. She's a few inches taller than Rainy, but she's relatively the same color as Rainy. Baby's owners board Baby at our house. It's been fun because I've been able to hang out with Ashlee (Baby's owner) and share a ton of laughs! The cool part is, we get to ride her, too, in the backyard! She's fun to ride, except her canter. That sure is a BOUNCY gait on Baby. On Rainy, it's like your on a smooth ship...but Baby...well, I won't humiliate her on here. She's such a fun horse though. One of the best things about living in Montana is that every morning, if you walk outside, she nickers at you! I LOVE IT! It's all just horsin' around!!

Go Dog, Go!

Jackson. We love our dog. Just take it at that. We LOVE our dog. He's the cutest dog and there is no debating that point...no matter how much you guys want to say that your dog is cutest. :) I might be saying some things that are just absolutely world changing for you, but our dog is the best in the world! OK, I'm done insulting your dog(s). Jackson is one of the family. Mom even gets him mixed up with our names. She has been known to say, "Caleb, I mean, Hannah, I mean, Isaac, that is, Grace, I mean, JACK! Don't do that!" He was our first big pet since we had our other two golden retrievers in Washington and our birds in California. Jackson has the sweetest face. His ears are so silky, and his nose is freezing in the morning when he wants breakfast! We all adore him, especially after he's had a bath! At times, he'll just sleep. Other times, he'll be the craziest, wildest, most hyper dog EVER! I'm sure he would have won some sort of prize if we had ever showed him.

I totally get it, Caleb!

Caleb. I actually usually don't get what Caleb's talking about. He is so absolutely techy that i get lost in the terminology. I actually have been called a...nube...I think I'm even being a nube in how I'm spelling that! But Caleb's the oldest, and the one to break the new territory. He went through all the grades and math books first. He became a teenager first. He graduated first. He bought an iPod first. He got his license first. He got a (constant) job first. He got his car first. He flew by himself in an airplane first. He amazes me with his intellect, though sometimes, as his sister, I question his sanity and his ability to think clearly. :)

He's also the first one to spread his wings. He loves politics, and discussing the new ideas and economic strategies of our day with Dad. Someday, he will be a mature businessman with a family. He will be the one of the family who will strive to be the best that he can in the business world. He's also a maturing guitarist. His ability is growing, and he hopes to be able to play for our church and become one of our church's worship leaders.

Having someone to pave the way is extremely helpful. They have advice, and stories to share. They are also at your level, and being related is even more helpful! It's nice to have someone who knows how to fix your computer when it's broken, or can diagnose a problem with the hard drive! Too bad I don't totally get it with all this techy stuff!

That's funny, Isaac

Well, Isaac has always been destined to be a standup comedian...atleast, that's what we tease him about. He's my little brother who's taller than me. He's finally at the point where he can say, "My big, little sister..." At times he's SO annoying that I think I could just die! But at other times, he's fun and funny. He thinks I'm just as annoying as I think he is, so it works pretty well. He thinks that I think I'm his mom, and I think that he thinks he's my dad! Funny thing is, he refuses to call me Mommy Hannah anymore....he's switched to calling Kaisha his "Mommy #1" coming in consecutive order after "Mommy # 0" who is actually our mom! I have grudgingly relinquished the position of not being "Mommy # 1" but I realize now that I really shouldn't be his Mom anymore. He should be able to think for himself. (But for some reason, I can't convince my "mommyishness" that he is actually able to think for himself!)

Isaac and I talk about stupid things, joke around, and mostly, tease each other. Sometimes, the teasing goes overboard, and we blow up. Isaac and I are so much alike in character and mannerism, but we are so different in many other ways. For a long time, people thought we were twins, and I thought that was pretty cool, but I think it's even better to have a "Taller, younger brother."

Best experience with Isaac: We were talking about a particularly funny topic while eating Ramen noodles. He had put a spicy sauce in his. He suddenly started laughing and the spicy soup went up his nose!!!! We still laugh about it, and call it our "inside joke!"

Goodness Gracious, Grace!

Grace. We all tease her about being graceful and gracious! Let's face it. It's hard to be named Grace. Jokes get shoved around about her name, and it's not hard to understand why! When we sit down to eat, and we want to laugh about something and we are going to say a prayer (saying grace in some housholds) we'll say, "Let's say the GRACE!" And also, when she bumps something, or sings a funny sounding note while humming a cheery tune, I'll say, "Goodness gracious, Grace!" But Grace is much more than just a sister. She's a confidant, a best friend, a loyal little sister. With her teen years approaching, she is excited to be "not just a little kid anymore." Of course, as sisters go, she's the best you can get. But, as sisters are prone, we have our arguments and spiteful words. Funny thing is, I have to hand it to her. She ALWAYS asks forgiveness first after an argument. She humbles herself, no matter how painful or how small her part in the argument was.

She loves her friends. Her biggest hurt is when her friends don't return her loyalty. Anyone who knows her loves her for being herself, and being confident in who she is. Everyone has a different characteristic they love most about her. My favorite is her laugh. It comes often and heartily! We laugh, we talk, we get over problems, we fight. It's all about being sisters. I absolutely adore my sister, even when we both have our rough spots.